Roe grabbed a shirt from his closet and put it on. “I’m not a coward, Lottie.”
We walked together into Roe’s living room, where Noble and Bram stood waiting. Noble had his hands laced behind his neck, looking stressed, while Bram had his arms folded over his chest, looking angry.
The moment Bram saw me, his arms dropped to his sides. “You have not returned my calls or texts for hours. Hours, Charlotte!”
I almost flinched. Instead, my body locked up. “I’m sorry. I haven’t checked my phone.” If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure where it was.
Bram’s eyes flicked to Roe standing at my side, then back to me again. “And why haven’t you checked your phone? What were you doing that was so distracting?”
“We fell asleep,” I forced myself to say.
The anger coming off of him was palpable. “You expect me to believe you came over here and took a nap for five fucking hours?”
I fisted my hands at my sides so they wouldn’t shake. “Please change your tone.” I tried to put strength in my voice, but it came out weak.
Roe’s hand went to the small of my back. “You’re scaring her.”
Bram glared at him. “I recommend you don’t fucking speak. Out of respect for your father, I haven’t snapped your neck yet.”
Roe didn’t listen. “All she can see is that you’re angry.”
“I am angry!” Bram yelled.
I knew he wouldn’t hit me, but I was still scared. I was fighting it with all my might and failing. The best thing I could do was grab ahold of the anger and frustration at how pathetic it was—how pathetic I was. “Why?!” I exploded. “Why are you angry? Because I was having sex with my boyfriend? I’m an adult, Bram. What the hell were you doing at my age?”
“It’s different,” he shot back.
“You’re right. It is different. I love him and he’s good to me. He helped pull me out of hell and brought me to you. All of which is more than you could say when you fucked my mother!”
It went quiet.
Noble, who hadn’t said anything since Roe and I came into the living room, exhaled through pursed lips as he stared wide-eyed at the floor.
Bram put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes. “I am angry.” His tone came out calmer. “Because I thought something happened to you when you didn’t answer your phone.” His eyes opened, meeting mine. “It scared me.”
“You’re scaring me right now,” I admitted, also in a calmer tone. “Logically, I know you won’t hit me, but it’s the only experience I have with an angry parent.”
His demeanor shifted. Instead of being puffed up, he deflated and sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have handled this better.”
My body began to relax and the fear eased. “I’m sorry, too. I think I left my phone in the car. I was with Roe. I was safe. I didn’t think I’d have to check in as much,” I explained. “And I’m sorry for what I said just now. It was either be angry or scared and I just didn’t want to be scared.”
He stepped closer and put his hand on top of my head. “It’s okay, kid. I’m glad you were safe.”
I sighed and moved closer until I could wrap my arms around his middle.
His hand on top of my head moved to the back of it and his other arm wrapped across my back.
As we hugged each other, Noble said, “I’m so glad I had a son.”
“You will be saying goodbye to that son if he hurts my daughter,” Bram grumbled.
I pulled away from Bram, shaking my head.
“With that attitude, you better be prepared for him to marry her,” Noble said to him.
Bram did not look like he liked that.
Noble rolled his eyes before staring at me for a moment, then looking back at Bram. “It serves you right that you ended up with a kid just like you.”
